Beren Academy's dream season comes to end in championship game

By STEVE CAMPBELL

Updated 1:15 am, Sunday, March 4, 2012

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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Beren Academy guard Isaac Mirwis (13) looks away as Abilene Christian guards Ben George (3) and Michael Avila (1) celebrate as time expires on a 46-42 Abilene Christian victory in the TAPPS 2A state championship basketball game at Nolan Catholic High School on Saturday, March 3, 2012, in Fort Worth.

Beren Academy fans cheer as their team take the court to face Abilene Christian.

Beren Academy fans cheer as their team take the court to face Abilene Christian.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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With less than 30 minutes to go before tip-off, the Beren Academy basketball team stretches before their TAPPS 2A state championship basketball game.

With less than 30 minutes to go before tip-off, the Beren Academy basketball team stretches before their TAPPS 2A state championship basketball game.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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The Beren Academy basketball team arrives at the arena after darkness, about 30 minutes before the start time of their TAPPS 2A state championship basketball game against Abilene Christian.

The Beren Academy basketball team arrives at the arena after darkness, about 30 minutes before the start time of their TAPPS 2A state championship basketball game against Abilene Christian.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

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As darkness falls, a line of fans wait to enter the arena for the the TAPPS 2A state championship basketball game between Beren Academy and Abilene Christian. The game was moved to a later start, after the sun set on the Jewish Sabbath.

As darkness falls, a line of fans wait to enter the arena for the the TAPPS 2A state championship basketball game between Beren Academy and Abilene Christian. The game was moved to a later start, after the

FORT WORTH - They rested. They reflected. And once the sun set on the Jewish Sabbath, the Beren Academy Stars rushed to Nolan Catholic High to play the biggest basketball game of their lives.

The only thing promised the Stars was opportunity granted better late than never. Given the chance to measure themselves in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 2A state championship game, the Stars came up second best by a 46-42 score to Abilene Christian on Saturday night at Hartnett Arena.

Two days after TAPPS amended the schedule to work around the Sabbath, the Stars couldn't shake loose from a relentless Panthers defense. Beren's belated admission into the proceedings drew national attention, with a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by three players and three parents persuading TAPPS to revisit the matter. Rabbi Harry Sinoff, head of the Beren Academy, described the whole experience as "up, down, up down."

"We feel this was a success," Sinoff said. "We got to compete in a basketball game, but the whole experience for the school was really remarkable. It brought the community together. Sometimes you don't have an event like this to do that. We're not pioneers. We just thought it was right for us to play. It was good for basketball."

Senior guard Daniel Austin scored 10 points in the first nine minutes after halftime, allowing the Panthers to pull away from a 19-19 stalemate. Austin scored all 14 of his points in the second half for the Panthers, who also got 14 from guard Ben George. All-tournament selections Zach Yoshor and Isaac Mirwis had 15 points apiece for the Stars (24-6).

Rushed preparations

Mirwis noted after the semifinals that it would be a different Sabbath than most, but that was to be expected: "It's not a normal weekend." The team van arrived from Arlington at 7:29 p.m. - 31 minutes before tipoff - and sped through stretching exercises and warm-up drills.

"We had our chance," Beren coach Chris Cole said. "The week was crazy. But in the end, I'm not going to say that had anything to do with it. We got our chance on the court."

After Isaac Buchine hit a 3-pointer for the first basket of the game at 6:55 of the first quarter, the Stars spent most of the first half playing uphill. The Panthers answered with a 10-3 run led by George, who kept slicing through the Beren defense to get to the basket.

Panthers surge

A swarming, man-to-man defense had the Stars looking rushed on offense - and unable to get the ball to Yoshor, who had 24 points in the semifinals, in good spots. Yoshor didn't get his first point until he made a free throw at 0:15 of the first quarter and didn't have a field goal until 3:55 before halftime.

By then, the Panthers had a 16-9 lead. Yoshor hit two 3s in the final 2:39 of the half, allowing Beren to get to the dressing room with a 19-19 tie. With Austin hitting four field goals in the third quarter, Beren entered the final eight minutes trailing 33-23.

"Their defense was fantastic," Cole said. "I felt like we were rushing shots. They made us feel like we only had a half a second to get a shot off instead of that normal full second or second and a half."

Brief comeback

The Stars cut the lead to 39-36 on two free throws with 3:15 remaining. A putback by Buchine at 0:26 and a jumper by Mirwis 10 seconds later cut the lead to two. Two free throws by Austin with 9 seconds left closed out the Stars, who sought their first state title.

None of the Beren players was made available for comment after the game. But after the semifinals, Mirwis said that what stamped the Stars as special is "the relationship we have. Off the court, we're all friends. Everyone gets along. We hang out."

Of course, there is a practical component to that.

Band of brothers

"We have to be friends," Yoshor said. "We have about 35 boys in our entire school."

Yoshor was 9 and heading into the fourth grade when he met Mirwis. They became best friends.

The two led a frantic fourth-quarter comeback, and when the final buzzer sounded they stood with their hands on their hips and watched the Panthers in celebration. A few feet away, their coach felt pride and powerless at the same time.

"I was torn up that they're feeling the way they're feeling," Cole said. "I don't think they understand what they've accomplished and what they've really been through. We made it all the way to the state finals, and it's an accomplishment in itself. I was proud for them."